Cptv Hopes To Extend Reign Of `Barney' The Television Dinosaur

`Barney' Funding Cutoff Under Review

July 29, 1992|By JON LENDER; Courant Staff Writer

Barney the television dinosaur has been given a reprieve from extinction, and he may end up being saved.

Nothing is sure yet, but producers of the "Barney & Friends" public-television show for children expressed optimism Tuesday that the Public Broadcasting Service may come up with money to make additional episodes beyond the original 30 -- which are being rerun daily on many PBS stations.

"Right now we are feeling very optimistic," said Jill Kemp, the Connecticut Public Television employee who is the acting promotions manager for "Barney & Friends." She added: "We are in a much better position than we were two months ago."

She said CPTV is hoping for a PBS announcement soon regarding possible money to make more half-hour "Barney" shows; no word had come as of Tuesday. Kemp did not know how much money or how many episodes might be possible, but she expected it would be less than the $2.3 million that CPTV had requested previously to make 30 new episodes.

In June, PBS announced it was not renewing funding for "Barney & Friends," an educational show for preschoolers that CPTV co-produces with the Lyons Group, a Texas company. "Barney," which was shot in Texas, had its premiere April 6.

Since PBS's decision, viewers and public television stations around the country have protested. They say that children respond well to "Barney," that "Barney" draws exceptional ratings (70 percent to 80 percent of viewers aged 2 to 5 in certain large markets), and that the show and related merchandise have been major draws for public television membership pledges.

PBS programming executives heard many of their stations' protests firsthand during an annual conference in San Francisco soon after the "Barney" decision. At one conference session, John Felton, vice president for programming at WPBT in Miami, suggested that PBS's decision to stop funding "Barney" had been made "hastily," adding that "the bottom line is, you have a major hit."

In a teleconference Friday with member stations, Kathy Quattrone, PBS's director of schedule management, said PBS has "reopened consideration" of budgeting money for new "Barney" episodes and is gathering new information about viewership on public stations around the country. She said PBS is "currently in discussion" with CPTV, but that no conclusion has been reached.

The 30 existing "Barney" episodes were produced with a $2.25 million matching grant awarded to CPTV by PBS. During the past year, PBS provided grants for initial runs for three new shows -- "Barney," "Shining Time Station" and "Lamb Chop's Play-Along." The latter two have already been assured of continued PBS funding.

Meanwhile, CPTV has gotten support from parents, who agreed to talk with the press. Eileen Ignazio of Windsor Locks said her 3-year-old son, R.J., stopped being terrified of the doctor after Barney demonstrated that doctors "don't hurt."

And Linda Greene of Provo, Utah, said her 3-year-old daughter, Rebekah, loved Barney so much that she emerged from a withdrawn state that was partly attributed to lingering trauma from a severe scalding.

"I asked the doctor, and he couldn't be sure how much Barney actually contributed," said Greene. "But I think she found something in Barney that finally made her `snap open.' If you asked me to name the real miracle, I'd say it was Barney.